Join Me in Death
by randompandattack
Summary: Jump City has been corrupted. After so much evil only Robin and Raven remain. Their friends are dead. Their hope is dead. Only their love survives, but will it be enough? Dark fic involves character death and suicide. RobRae oneshot.


**A/N: It's about that time of year where I write another dark fic. Join me in death is my third suicide fic, and in my opinion: my best yet. I like it, though I have my doubts about anyone else enjoying it. It's inspired by the song "join me in death" by HIM, however it is NOT a song-fic. Reviews are appreciated, however constructive criticism is wasted for such a story. So RobRae fans...read on. **

Join Me in Death

_The path to hell is paved with good intentions._

_You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain._

No one knows the future. It is impossible to fully understand the consequences of one's actions until much later. So many times we do something good only for it manifest years later as an evil. It is this world's irony.

When modern medicine came about no one could foresee any downside. An increase in living standards for all would make the world a better place right? Less death, hate and sadness which could be replaced by love and a bettering of the world. No one predicted this would join with a few other factors and overpopulate our world. If everyone on earth dies was it worth the few lives saved otherwise?

When Hitler rose as a leader for the German people the citizens were happy. They thought he might be the one to lead Germany out of its horrible depression and lead it as a great world power. No one knew he would rise up as an evil maniacal dictator bent on exterminating an entire race of people.

And when the Teen Titans came to Jump city to save lives and punish evil no one knew there would be a downside. No one realized that their light in the darkness would attract serpents crawling out from the darkest trenches of the earth. The Titans' arrival would be seen as a challenge to those who despised justice. And it was all thanks to one man, Slade…

The criminal mastermind known only as "Slade" had taken an apprentice. This apprentice was named Terra, and he had manipulated and controlled her mind so well she had betrayed the only people to have ever called her friend. The Titans tried to save her, but to no avail.

Instead they would have to resort to stopping her; for her crimes were now unforgiveable. Confronting her in her master's lair the Titans were able to put an end to both her and her master. But such a victory came at a heavy price.

The price was the life of their dear friend, Beast Boy. Love was his downfall, as the tofu-loving prankster would come to realize. As the volcano below their feet started to erupt Beast Boy made a rash decision. He wouldn't leave the girl he loved. While the others escaped he stayed and died with Terra.

When it was all over the remaining Titans searched everywhere for their fallen friend but when they finally found him he was frozen in stone forever alongside the blonde he died with. In little over a few weeks they had gone from six Titans to only four.

They mourned their friend but promised to continue fighting for his sake; they would not give up. What they hadn't realized was the announcement of the death of Beast Boy sent a message out to the rest of the City and further. The evil that had hid from them in the shadows started to doubt. They realized with Beast Boy's death that the Titans weren't invincible. Even if only one by one, they could be taken down. Slade had taught them that, even if it had cost him his life.

A challenge was sent out among them. Who is strong enough to destroy the remaining Teen Titans? Who will be the one to break them and claim the city for their own?

And so, little by little, Jump City changed. It went from a safe community of citizens to a crime-infested sewer. It was a disease on the back of the world that longed for a cure. But no matter how hard the Titans fought they could never beat back the virus that had become Jump City.

After some time, the rest of the world gave up on Jump City. Instead of trying to cleanse it they closed it off. It was abandoned and left to die. But it didn't die; at least the evil didn't die. It continued to kill, rape, steal and torture anything good left inside.

Starfire was the first to die after Beast Boy. Raven and Robin later agreed that she had been too kind, too loving to survive in such a city. They agreed that she was in a better place, a place that deserved a soul such as hers. This city didn't deserve to gaze on the angel that was Starfire.

Cyborg wasn't long for this world himself. One on one the half-man half-machine was undefeatable against any one opponent. He was too strong, too brave and too valiant for evil to defeat alone. But evil is crafty and Cyborg's strengths became his weakness. Called out alone in the middle of the night to save the life of a little girl he was ambushed. Gizmo deactivated his systems while the others made worms' meat of him. Robin later soothed Raven with the image of Cyborg beating Beast Boy in video games up in heaven. Terra would be laughing while Starfire drank mustard as if it wasn't a condiment.

And then there were only two Titans left: Raven and Robin. The over-obsessive leader and the Goth princess. They found comfort in each other and even fell in love; though Robin would never admit it. He was supposed to be the leader; this city was his responsibility and he had failed. Raven and Robin fought on, but in their hearts they knew the battle could no longer be won by effort alone.

Raven was at the tower when she got the call from Speedy. The tower itself was falling apart without Cyborg to protect it and care for it. She sighed but knew Speedy wouldn't have called if it wasn't important. She had to go.

"Robin?" She asked holding the yellow communicator in her soft hands. It buzzed in static for a minute before changing to the image of Robin. He looked older, and tired. His uniform was dirty and ripped and he appeared to be sweating.

"Raven? What is it?" He asked.

"I just received a call from speedy," She told him. "He needs my help on the other side of town. He said it was urgent."

"Alright," He answered. "I'm trying to hold off the hive five, but I'll head over there as soon as I can."

Raven bit her lip, "I have a bad feeling about this. Something isn't right. Should I wait for you?"

The leader shook his head, "There isn't time. If Speedy called you then he must be in serious trouble, you should go now."

Raven slowly nodded, "Alright I'll head over there. But Robin," She said emotion cracking into her voice. "There's something I have to tell you…" The only remaining female Titan gulped as she prepared to say three very important words. "Robin I…"

But before she could finish a large figure looming behind Robin attacked. The caped crusader managed to sense it in time and sent Mammoth flying backwards before quickly turning back to the communicator. "I'm sorry Raven, there's no time. You'll have to tell me later. Robin out."

The face of the one she loved disappeared to be replaced by static. Raven sighed; she wished it didn't have to be this way. She wanted life to go back to the way it was supposed to be, back when there were five Titans. But most of all she wanted to tell Robin how much she loved him.

She remembered what happened a week ago. In all the chaos and madness of Cyborg's death Robin was losing it. He had been able to comfort Raven when it happened but now two weeks later it seemed to be eating him. Knowing he was close to breaking the purple-haired girl made him take a break.

After he had nearly hyper-ventilated she took him into her room and sat down on her bed. There were no plans, no weapons, there weren't even dressed in their uniforms; just civilian clothes. She snuggled up next to him and her left hand found his right hand.

They didn't even talk; instead Raven read a book of poetry and Robin was reading a mystery novel Raven bought him for his last birthday. Raven had turned on some nice quiet music and as it soothed them, they forgot. They forgot their problems, their pain and the world outside Raven's room altogether. There was only the moment.

Raven wished she could have lived her whole life in that single afternoon. But she couldn't; she had to go help Speedy. Regaining her wits she flew over the city preparing to do what she must.

Half an hour after Robin got the call from Raven he drove his R cycle through the crime-infested streets. He was heading her way as fast as he could. Following the signal from her communicator he tracked her here until her communicator stopped working. He knew Raven would never turn it off which meant something must have happened.

He knew he was close as the rank stench of death hung over the nearby alley. As he approached he jumped off his R cycle at the sight of a body. Running over he saw it was the body of his friend Speedy.

"Speedy?" Robin said pulling him up in his hands. "No! Not you too!" He cursed the city. Leaning his friend's body up against the wall he continued on. There were various other bodies of criminal scum piled high. He assumed this was the work of Raven and Speedy. Robin could only hope Raven was somewhere else, somewhere safe, for he could feel no life here…

The sound of a cough brought his attention to the furthest corner of the alley. He ran over without a second thought to find Raven lying down in a pool of her own blood. She was breathing heavily and her body was covered in bruises and deep gashes. Various cuts bleed her out into the street but a large cut through her stomach caused the most damage.

Robin knew she was still alive as her eyes were moving rapidly until they came to rest on him. "Oh no Raven." He said as his voice cracked. "I should've been here sooner! I-I've got to get you back to the tower, I should—"

"Robin…" Raven choked out the word; she almost appeared happy to see him. "I'm glad you came…"

"Raven, don't talk." Robin said holding as he held her hand. "You're badly wounded, you need medical attention."

She shook her head, "Robin I need to tell you." She whispered to him. He leaned in closer to hear her. "What I was going to say before…need to tell you…"

"Raven its okay you—"

"I love you."

She told him suddenly. The words stopped him completely. She looked up at him with an almost relieve expression as her breathing slowed. He swallowed hard as his dry throat tried to produce words. He closed his eyes.

"Raven I…I love you too!"

Opening his eyes back up he realized…she was gone. "No Raven!" He said slightly shaking her. "You can't be dead! You can't leave me all alone!" He cried as tears ran down his face. He wasn't even sure she had heard him declare his love for her. He sat there holding her body as he wept through his mask.

His tears caught in his mouth and he tried to look up. He tried to open his eyes. His attention was drawn to the blood splattered wall in front of him; only now he realized it wasn't random blood. Someone or something had taken Raven's blood and written a message on the wall.

_Get ready to join her Robin; you're the only one left. You're next…_

It said taunting him. Robin's sadness turned to anger as he read this. He clenched his fists so hard he felt blood. He hated them. No, hate wasn't enough for what he felt. He despised their entire being; an eternity in hell wouldn't be enough to satisfy the crimes they've committed. But Robin wouldn't give them the satisfaction. No, because they wouldn't be killing the last of the Teen Titans.

Picking up Raven's body gently, Robin carried it out of the disgusting alley. Past the corpses and to his R cycle. He took her back to Titan's tower.

The tower was empty, cold and dark. The thud of his blood-stained boots resounded; each step reminding him of what he had lost. Each step higher and higher brought with it more memories of what was once good.

He finally stopped when he got to Raven's room. He laid her body down on top of her bed after he wiped up most of the blood. He put her head on the pillow and let her legs rest over the bed. His fingers pushed a strand of hair out of her beautiful face as he almost smiled.

Robin took his boots and cape off along with his mask. It was then that he noticed a letter on Raven's desk. Walking over he saw the letter had his name on it so he opened it.

_Robin_, it said. _If you're reading this then I've passed on. I've felt this coming and thought I should be prepared. If I haven't already told you yet, you should know: I love you. I'm not sure when it happened but I've been in love with you for a while now._

_I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me. You allowed me into your team; you watched out for me and treated me like a friend. For a brief time you even gave me hope, but most of all you loved me. _

_I fear what you will do now that I am gone. Please don't blame yourself; none of us ever blamed you. I worry you will try to fight all alone, and I must ask, please don't. It's over Robin, we both know that. You shouldn't have to put yourself through anymore pain. Forgive me for my selfish request, but please join me. Join me in death._

_Yours forever, _it was signed_. Raven._

Robin put the note back where he had found it and realized he was crying again. "Raven…" he whispered. Wiping his eyes he walked out of the room. He quickly came back but this time he was holding something.

It was a small handgun he had taken from a criminal when he tried to restrain the man. He had never been sure until now why he still kept it. But now he knew the gun was going to deliver him. Deliver him back to her. After making sure it was loaded Robin put the gun to his temple. His finger shook as it held the trigger.

"This life ain't worth living!"

The single shot fired. It tore through the silence of the tower but disappeared just as quickly. The gun fell harmlessly to the floor while Robin's body fell back onto Raven's bed. Gravity pushed him down and he lay right beside the girl he loved.

Ten minutes later a tremor was felt throughout Jump City. The city itself started to shake. It grew worse and soon it was a full blown earthquake. Cries of fear rang out as buildings started to fall and the ground collapsed. Pure chaos consumed the town as nothing was safe from the disaster.

It was as if Mother Nature herself was crying out in rage. Rage for the death of the Teen Titans. The earthquake didn't stop, it continued for hours. When it was finally over the entire city was demolished. Not a single person was left alive. The only thing left untouched was Titans tower and the island that it stood on.

Meanwhile in another reality all on its own…

Robin opened his eyes. Though his eyes had been shut he didn't feel like he had been sleeping. He was staring up at a deep blue sky while the cool breeze washed over him. The boy wonder was lying on a bed of green grass.

He felt something warm touch his hand. Moving his head to the left he saw someone holding his hand. It was Raven and she was…smiling? All of her wounds were gone; she didn't have a mark on her.

"Raven?" He asked in what felt like the first time he had ever used his voice. He noticed the soreness in his throat was completely gone.

She nodded, "Good morning Robin. I missed you…"

"M-Me too Raven," Robin said. "Where are we? Is this…is this real?" He asked.

The purple-haired girl nodded again, "Yes, this is very real." She stood up and offered him her hand. "We're home Robin, home." The male smiled and took her hand.

_And the light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not._


End file.
